THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

“I am a member of a fragile species, still new to the earth, the youngest creatures of any scale, here only a few moments as evolutionary time is measured, a juvenile species, a child of a species. We are only tentatively set in place, error prone, at risk of fumbling, in real danger at the moment of leaving behind only a thin layer of of our fossils, radioactive at that.”

— Lewis Thomas

BIRTHDAYS:

1574 William Oughtred, English mathematician (invented early slide rule)

1637 Jan van der Heyden, Dutch painter and inventor (fire hose; street lighting)

1678 Antonio Vivaldi, Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Four Seasons: Spring (La Primavera)

1696 Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian Venetian Rococo painter (Isaac’s Sacrifice), born in Venice, Venetian Republic.

1782 Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss folklorist and writer (Swiss Family Robinson).

1794 Jacques Babinet, French physicist, mathematician and astronomer (contributions to optics)

1853 Howard Pyle, American illustrator, painter and author (King Stork).

1887 Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian cellist, guitarist, and conductor, and composer. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5

1904 George Gamow, Ukrainian-born American nuclear physicist and writer.

1955 Penn Jillette, American magician, juggler, comedian, musician, actor, author, inventor, and television personality, best known as the taller, talkative partner in the magic duo Penn & Teller.

MISCELLANEOUS:

INTERESTING. Iran Uprising Projection

BEFORE THE NEXT LOCK DOWN (INCLUDING VIOLATING FREE SPEECH AND THE FREEDOM TO ASSEMBLE), THE AUTHORITIES SHOULD BE OBLIGATED TO READ THE FOLLOWING: